Starbucks Cup Magic: A Tricky Move?

Can’t wait until the holiday season official launches? If you’ve been listening to holiday music for months now, Starbucks has the ultimate app for you. The Starbucks Cup Magic app turns your red Starbucks cup into an animated cartoon of sorts. That’s right, you can turn your cup into something that every kid on the planet will enjoy – but why would you?

No doubt an attempt to bring more people into Starbucks locations everywhere, the Cup Magic app will be available for all iPhone and Android users within the near future (a week or so). What exactly does this app do? Well, nothing really, but I’m betting Starbucks fans across the globe will download the free app when it becomes available. The question is: will Cup Magic be a major fail for the Starbucks team?

What Cup Magic Does

Ok, it has to do something, right? Well, technically, Cup Magic allows Starbucks fans to point their iPhone or Android phone at a red holiday Starbucks cup. Once pointed, fans can choose from a number of different Starbucks characters. For example, you could turn your ordinary cup into a short vide of a polar bear riding a sleigh (on screen, that is). To really see how this app works, you have to visit the Starbucks website. But, wait, there’s more!

Not only can you point your phone at a cup to make the magic happen, but you can point your phone at 49 different Starbucks objects in-store. So, the next time you are in Starbucks, point your phone (armed with the Cup Magic app) at a bag of coffee or a sign, and see what new characters develop. Alright, now that I’ve explained the app, you might be asking yourself: why?

Projected Image

Can you picture droves of people wandering around Starbucks locations looking for a new character to add to their personal Cup Magic app? Better yet, can you picture yourself letting all of your Facebook friends know that you’ve found a new character (this is a possibility too)? If you love games, you might find Cup Magic amusing. Otherwise, this app seems targeted towards children.

Wait, is Starbucks targeting children? You bet. From hot chocolate to frothy drinks and cupcakes, Starbucks wants the kid vote. Chances are, a mom or dad who frequents Starbucks will have an Android or iPhone, and that parent’s child will want to find out how many characters can be collected. So, to recap: kid wants to find characters, this forces parents to stop at Starbucks, and Starbucks makes lots of extra money from all those extra purchases during the holiday season – good, clean, fun.

Availability

If you can’t wait to find out what that loveable white Starbucks polar bear does next, you’ll have to keep your eyes and ears tuned towards Starbucks news. Those signature red and white cups are available at your local Starbucks now, but the app isn’t quite ready to go. Oh, one more note: the app will only be available on the iPhone for people who live in Canada.